The bill would establish a system in which concerned relatives, intimate partners or friends can notify police about someone showing a propensity toward violence, so police can investigate and seek a judge's order to seize that person's firearms and prevent any purchases.

Current law lets that process start only when therapists notify police that a client is at risk of committing a violent act. Family members can call police, but if no crime has been committed and the individual doesn't meet criteria for an involuntary civil commitment to mental health treatment, there isn't anything police can do about that person's firearms.

"When someone is in crisis, the people closest to them are often the first to spot the warning signs," Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, said in a news release. "Parents, like the mother who tried to intervene, deserve an effective tool they can act on to help prevent these tragedies."

"The tragic incident in my hometown of Isla Vista is not a result of gun laws failing," Williams said. "Rather, it is a horrific example of how our mental health laws and gun control laws are not working together."

Also, state Senate Democrats will present a package of mental health policy and budget proposals Wednesday in Sacramento "to address mental healthcare within California's criminal justice system, recidivism and public safety," according to a release from Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's office. "The package includes a proposal to strengthen and apply statewide protocols to help frontline law enforcement identify signs of mental illness."